cmsix John and Argent by cmsix Chapter 30 I found Racaato after a while. He was helping to finish up with the very last of the bison hunt's cleanup. I took him away and down to the horse pens. "I need to teach you to ride a horse Racaato." "Good, I was hoping that I could learn. It seems to me that having a horse to ride would allow for even better hunting." He said. "It does, it is also helpful in carrying back what you kill. If you ride one horse and lead another you can bring back even more if you do well hunting. I am not teaching you just for your own use though. I want you to understand that I have some hunting that I want you to do for me." "I will be happy to. I would rather hunt than anything else." He admitted. "That is good, I have some hunting chores that I have taken on and I now have many duties here that keep me from getting to them easily. Many others are depending on what I have promised them and if you can hunt for me it will be very helpful." "What hunting do you need me to do? We are so new here and I do not know what you have promised." He said. "The biggest job is the payment for Danlo's mates and for two of my mates, Shelalliea and Dalia." I said. Thankfully I didn't have to explain to him about the payment for Shelalliea and Dalia since he didn't ask. He was shocked though when he learned that I was already in debt to other camps for one hundred bison in all. "That is not all either Racaato, I will soon need to pay a mating price for a new mate for Georgo. He thinks that he can bargain for a payment of six to eight bison." I said. "With one hundred to be paid elsewhere six or eight more will seem like nothing. I will do my best but even if I learn to use the bow well enough it will still take many summers to kill one hundred bison." He said. "That is why I need to teach you how to ride the horse, how to lead another to help carry the game, how to drive and load the wagons and how to hunt with a rifle. Do you think that you can learn it?" "I will make myself learn. I will work as hard as I can to do it. I must tell you that I am very excited to think I will learn to use the rifle." He said. "First you will learn to ride the horse then we will go to the cave and you can start on the rifle." It only took a couple of hours to show Racaato how to saddle and ride Bonehead. He wasn't a good rider after that by any means but he caught on quickly enough so that I was sure he could learn the rest by doing. I showed him how to rig the travois again; he already had some experience with them from the move his camp made here. We adjourned to the practice cave then and Racaato was surprised to find he had an M1 exactly like mine in his locker now. We didn't start firing right away. I took him to one of the benches with a cartridge and explained everything to him. I even took the bullet out of the cartridge and showed him the powder and explained how everything worked. I pointed out the primer in the back of the cartridge case and explained that it was what caused the powder to burn. I showed him a spent cartridge and he could easily see the dent that the firing pin had made in the primer. I even put the cartridge I had disassembled into the M1 and let him fire it so that he could see that even the tiny primer would make noise without any bullet or powder. He caught on quickly to this part. He had more difficulty understanding that the bullet would fall over distance after it was fired. He had no concept of gravity but did understand that things that weren't supported fell. I held up the bullet and let it drop to the ground and then told him that the bullet would fall toward the ground at the same rate even after being fired from the rifle. Finally I saw that he had an inkling that the bullet would proceed in a straight line when fired but would fall toward the ground. Another thirty minutes of explaining and he had a hold on the concept of aiming the rifle and of sighting it in so that the bullet would hit where the site was pointed. We took a break after that and went to my cave where we found women with food. As we finished eating Georgo came in to tell me that indeed the whole of Yotalieta's camp had just arrived and that Colonto, the leader, and Gondro, his second, wanted to meet with me. I wanted to put it off because I hadn't gotten Racaato to the point that he could begin firing by himself. I decided not to though and asked Racaato if he thought he could catch, saddle and practice riding Bonehead for an hour or so. He said that he would be happy to go give it a try and then left. Georgo went to fetch the two men then and I got a mug of coffee and sat back down. My mates had all left when they heard that visitors had arrived. When Georgo brought the two men in I stood and we exchanged greeting. Colonto was taller and in fact bigger than most men I'd met in this time. He was probably six feet and must have weighed two hundred, even bigger than Bigglieo. Gondro was about five ten and one seventy. I asked them if they would like to try some coffee and after Georgo told them that it was good but required getting used to they agreed. I got them and Georgo a mug and then asked them to sit down. "We have heard much about you John. We have been told that you will have much food this winter and that you might be willing to take in other camps." Colonto said without wasting any time. "We have plenty of food here and we want more people to join us. There is plenty in this area and plenty of room in the caves for more people. Were you thinking of joining us?" "Yes, our camp has become too small to stay alone. I have done my best but we don't seem to be able to do well enough with our hunting. If we do not join a larger camp I fear that we will be hungry this winter." He told me plainly. "I will be happy if you will join us then. I am a fair man and I have few rules, I do expect everyone to abide by them though." I told them what I considered my rules then, basically, no woman beating and no slackers that don't want to help. I explained that we did not need for every man to hunt and that I didn't demand everyone stay if they wanted to leave later. "I also do not like for women to be mistreated though I know that some camps allow it. It isn't helpful when it happens and it causes everyone in the camp to be disturbed. As far as men that don't work are concerned, we do not have any like that in our camp. You will find that both the men and the women that are with me are eager to do their part." Colonto said. "Then I think that you should consider yourselves a part of this camp now. Why don't you and Gondro let Georgo and I show you to your new caves." I asked. He seemed slightly startled for a second, as if he couldn't believe it was that easy. They did agree to come with us though. Georgo led the way and when we got there I let him do all the explaining. Needless to say Colonto and Gondro were speechless for most of the look-see. "Your camp and these caves are wonderful. I can hardly believe some of the things that I have seen." Colonto said finally. "The spirits have been very generous to us, very generous." Georgo told them. "If it is settled then I should go and tell all the others. When they see what is here they will be very happy. It will make the long journey back for our things seem worthwhile, even though it will probably take many trips." Gondro said. "It will probably only take one trip. You have not seen the wagons and horses yet. We will take the wagons and horses to bring your things back after the mating is over. You will see that it is not nearly as much trouble with the horses helping." I told them. We went outside then and Colonto's group gathered around while he made the happy announcement. As we headed into the big cave to show them around I saw another larger group approaching. It was Caato and his camp. I asked Georgo to show Colonto, Gondro and the others the large cave while I went to greet Caato. When I approached Caato I greeted him as if he were an old and dear friend. I didn't gush too much but I did lay it on a little thick. I could tell that he was surprised. My mates came over too and were soon talking with all the women. I asked Caato if he and his best man would like to come into my cave and talk with me and he agreed and called for Jalaato to join us. I offered them both coffees when we were inside and they accepted. I saw the looks on their faces when they tried it and told them about the acquired taste syndrome. They put on a brave face and took another sip as we sat. "Caato I have been worried about you and your camp. I don't see how I could have done otherwise but I know that I have cost you some of your best hunters. Will you have enough to eat this winter?" I asked right off the bat. "Thank you for your concern. We had some long discussions about you of course and we all feel that you had no choice in the matters. In fact we feel that those of our camp that troubled you got exactly what they deserved. It has left us in an unpleasant situation as far as food for the winter goes but we are actually better off now in other ways. Our disagreements among each other are pretty much gone now but food for this winter will be a problem." He told me. "We will be happy to help you with food in any way that we can. We just had a big hunt two days ago and we killed twenty-nine bison. The women have also been doing very well with their gathering and even though many have joined us we will have plenty of food." I said. "We have talked about it and we wonder if you would consider letting our camp join you also?" Caato said. I could grow fond of the way these people came out and said what was on their mind without a lot of bullshit. "We would be very happy if you joined us. We have plenty of food and plenty of room in the caves. We can use the wagons and horses to bring your things here and I'm sure that we can have a good camp." I said. His relief was apparent and I knew that he wouldn't balk at my few rules of conduct. If there were still some in his camp that didn't want to cooperate I was sure that I could take care of them. "Frankly I am delighted. We were afraid that the treatment you received from some in our camp would keep us from being welcome here." Caato admitted. "Nonsense. Those that caused me trouble are dead now and I would not count their actions against you or your camp. I will not say that I don't wonder if there aren't still some that would have hard feeling against me but I will tell you that they had better keep those feelings to themselves if they come to live here. I consider myself a fair man but I am the leader." "If there are any that have bad feelings toward you I do not know of it. Many feel that you did us all several big favors. Just because a man is a good hunter doesn't mean that he is a good man. None of those who forced you to kill them were friendly men. I know of no one that wishes any of them were still with us." Caato said. "Is it decided then, will you join us?" I asked. "If you and your camp are agreeable then it is decided. We will go back for our things after the mating ceremony and move them here." Caato said. "You should just go back and wait for Bigglieo and the others to come for you. Go home and pack your things for moving. We will come with the wagons and horses and bring them here for you." "That will be even better. I should go and tell all the others." Caato said just as Georgo came back to my cave alone. "I have introduced Colonto and Gondro and most of his people around. They are very excited and were examining the big cave for places to settle when I left them." Georgo told me. "Did you speak to Yotalieta?" I asked him. "Yes and she agreed to mate with me. She and Ladeliea are talking now. They seemed to be happy about it." Georgo said and sounded happy. "I hope Baahaya's camp is coming for the mating also." "They will be here soon no doubt. I'm sure that Raalto, their leader, is anxious to see you and your camp. I know that he has heard much of you. Some of it I told him before I joined you here." Georgo said. "Well I hope that you told him good things about me." "Of course I did. Not as good as I would now but good things none the less." Georgo said and laughed. "I hope they don't come for another hour or so. I need to get Racaato started with the rifle so he can practice on his own." I told Georgo and then I left to find Racaato. I saw him as soon as I left my cave. He was riding Bonehead and they were down by the horse pens. I walked toward him and when I got close he dismounted and met me leading the mare. "How was it Racaato?" "I think that I am catching on. It is strange to me though. Sometimes I get the feeling that the horse actually wants to do what I am asking but just doesn't understand what I want." Racaato said. "That is a sign that you have a very good horse to work with. You will soon learn how to communicate with her. She was very stubborn at first but when she found out that she must do what we wanted she gave up on her stubbornness. It will be better if you consider Bonehead your main horse and I will try to see that she is not often used by others unless it is necessary at the time. I will expect you to try and make sure that she is well cared for though." "I will tend to her but I don't know what needs to be done for her." Racaato admitted. "You will learn and it is not difficult. Our biggest problem with the horses will be cutting and gathering grass so they will be able to make it through the winter. We will worry about that later though." I told him. I asked him to put Bonehead away and return to the practice cave when he had. Danlo came up to us then and I asked him to show Racaato how to care for the mare before he put her away. He agreed at once and I went back to the practice cave to get things ready for Racaato's next lesson. Racaato joined me after half an hour and thirty more minutes of instructions had him firing the rifle. After a first few shots I showed him how to adjust the scope to sight it in. I also went over the bullet's drop over distance with him again and I showed him how to move the target out and get proof that the drop would occur. I left him at it then, reminding him that as the rifle heated up slight changes in the bullet drop would occur. I didn't try to explain that more heat in the chamber and barrel caused more energy to be produced by the burning powder. When I got back into my cave I saw that my mates and a few of my new neighbors were cooking. That is never an unwelcome sight. When I sat at the table Loreena brought me a mug of coffee and gave me a peck on the cheek. I gave her ass a little squeeze in return and she was smiling as she left. Georgo joined me then and Ladeliea brought him a mug of coffee. He seemed to be in good spirits and I asked him about it. "I am just glad that we will have more joining us and I am happy to have Yotalieta here with me too. I will be even happier when Baahaya and her camp arrive." He said. "If she is even nearly as attractive as Yotalieta I do not wonder why." I said innocently. Georgo had a funny look on his face for just a second and then it was split by a big smile. I didn't understand what that was all about. "No doubt you are nearly as anxious to see Baahaya as I am." He told me and laughed. I might have actually blushed slightly. "Do not worry John, Baahaya is a lovely girl. You also will be happy after we are mated. It is sad that I will probably have to take a few days journey as soon as the mating nights are over though." Georgo said still grinning. "If you do you will find that Yotalieta and Baahaya have new clothes when you return." I replied. Georgo didn't understand at first. I could almost see his mind working as he took a sip of coffee to stall for time. It was evident when he tumbled to it though because and even bigger smile came across his face. "I see now how the new clothes have been awarded. I should have noticed it myself. No doubt all the women in camp will have new outfits before long." Georgo said and slapped me on the back laughing. Jonoco came into the cave then telling us that another camp was arriving. Georgo and I left our coffee on the table and went outside. As soon as he saw them coming up the valley Georgo told me that it was Raalto and that it appeared that he had his whole camp with him. We walked toward them. "I am John and you are welcome here." I told Raalto as we met. "I am Raalto and we are happy to be here. I am glad to finally meet you John, I have heard many things about you. I am glad to know you. These are Reeana and Jareena, my mates." He said introducing me to them. My first thought was an unkind one. I thought what a shame it was that his camp was doing so well and that he probably wouldn't want to join us. I quashed it though and smiled at Reeana and Jareena as I welcomed them also. My mates hadn't been far behind Georgo and I and after some introductions they were all soon off with Jareena and Reeana to greet all the women. Raalto introduced me then to Daaggo who he named as his best helper. Raalto was nearly as big as I was but not quite. Daaggo was a smaller man but I noticed the intelligence in his bright eyes at once. Raalto gave Daaggo a few instructions for helping the others get settled and when Daaggo left to take care of it Raalto turned back to me as if waiting to see what was next. "Let us go to my cave and talk for a while Raalto." I suggested. He agreed and we headed for it. I had been expecting Georgo to come with us but I saw that he was talking to a young woman and I assumed it was Baahaya. When we entered my cave I showed Raalto a seat at the big table and asked if he would like to try some coffee. He admitted that he had never heard of it and so I gave him the acquired taste spiel. He agreed to try it and I got us a couple of mugs and as I handed him one I sat near him. He took a small sip and then another. He took a third and then smiled. "It is very different but I think that I like it. Did you call it coffee?" Raalto asked. "Yes it is coffee. I am surprised that you like it so soon. Most don't. When I first had Georgo try some he didn't like it but told me he did anyway. Later he told me that when he was offered something at any camp he always tried it and told the people how good it was, even if he didn't like it at all." I said. Raalto laughed out loud at this. "I had never even thought about it but I can see that he would have to do that. Now that you have mentioned it I may have to change my view of the shaman, of all shamans. I know that they do useful things for us but had never even thought of the things they might have to endure in order to ply their trade. All cooks are not good cooks and I can see where it would not be possible for Georgo to mention such things. Especially if he wanted a meal the next time he visited." Raalto said and laughed again. I had to laugh too at the thought. I was glad that I hadn't had the pleasure of less than tasty meals while here. With the number of mates I had collected I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to get a bad meal either. Raalto and I talked for about an hour and though it started out slowly I came to realize that Raalto was probably the smartest man I had met in this time. Maybe I thought this because he seemed to have so many ideas that agreed with mine. I found that abuse of women in his camp was not tolerated either. He told me that it had been disagreeable to the leader before him but that it hadn't been forbidden. When Raalto had become leader he had declared that day that it would no longer be tolerated and he had pointed out three men that would be leaving right away. The rub came when he told them that their mates would be staying for at least two weeks. He'd told them that the women could leave after two weeks if they really wanted to. One of the men that were to be ejected had tried to argue the point. Raalto hadn't killed him; he'd just beaten the shit out of him. That ended the arguments and the three packed up and left. None of their mates had even considered joining them after two weeks and they had all been mated to a new man shortly. Near the end of our talk I broached the subject of Baahaya and Georgo with Raalto. His reply was surprising. "I have known that the shaman wanted Baahaya for a mate for some time. I had about made up my mind to tell him that if she agreed I would pay his mating price. The shaman may not know but I do; Baahaya has her heart set on being Georgo's mate. I'm sure she will be just as happy to be one of his mates since he has one already and it will only be time before he mates Yotalieta also. Maybe we can work it out so he can mate Yotalieta and Baahaya at the same time." Raalto said. "I am glad that you feel that way. I will be happy to pay any price that your women decide on. I think it will be better for us all though if you wait until you are back at your camp to receive your payment." I said. "I'm sure that will be acceptable but I am curious. Why would it be better for us to wait?" Raalto asked. "I don't want to seem stubborn but if it is demanded that Baahaya's price be paid before she can stay with us I will go up onto the plateau tomorrow and kill as many bison as it takes to pay for her, assuming that Georgo can negotiate a price in bison. Even if we help it will be difficult for you to carry many bison back the long distance to your camp." I said. "You are right. It would not even be necessary for your camp to help with the cleaning and drying if you did not want to. Can you kill so many bison in a few days?" He asked, clearly curious. "Two days ago we had a hunt and I killed thirty-one bison. Two were to keep a long toothed cat from bothering us though." I said. "That is amazing. You can be sure that no matter what the women decide you can pay Baahaya's price when you see fit. I came here for a mating celebration, not for several days of hard work and then a long trip carrying dried meat. For that matter we don't even need it right now." Raalto said. "I am glad that there will be good feelings all around then. If it is acceptable to you, I will let Racaato come to your camp and kill the bison when you want them. I am teaching him to hunt my way and though he is still learning I am sure he will be able to do it soon." I told him. "If you have something to teach Racaato I am even more amazed. I have hunted with him before and I didn't know that there was anything about hunting he didn't know already. Feel free to send Racaato to my camp to hunt anytime." Raalto said. "I am not so much teaching him about hunting, I am teaching him a new weapon and a new method of killing. He will be ready soon to go and test it. You may want to prepare your camp though. If you send Racaato to kill ten bison, you will have ten dead bison to deal with in only an hour or so. I would suggest that you only ask him to get a few at once so that you won't have so much work all at one time." "We will keep that in mind. How was it that you were able to process twenty-nine bison in just two days though?" Raalto asked. "There are many of us here now, also we do not have to dry the meat since we have the frozen cave. The most time consuming job now is cleaning the intestines and curing the hides." "I can remember many times when my camp would have been happy to be burdened with such work." Raalto said. Georgo came into the cave then and got himself a mug of coffee before he sat down. "Have the women of my camp bested you in the bargaining for Baahaya Georgo?" Raalto asked him. "I am afraid they have. It is always easier to bargain when you are doing it for something that someone else wants. When you are bargaining for yourself it is hard not to pay too much. In the long run though I don't see how I could pay too much for mating Baahaya." Georgo said and grinned. "Well you needn't keep us in suspense, how did it go?" I asked. "At least they were agreeable to be paid in bison. They will accept ten bison for Baahaya, they said that they wanted two more since it was such a long distance between our camps and they would not get to see her very much anymore." Georgo explained. "I am very glad that we were able to talk then John. I am tired and sore just thinking of processing ten bison, drying the meat and packing it back to my camp." Raalto said. Georgo looked surprised so I told him some of the things that Raalto and I had talked about. He was grinning again when he realized that Baahaya would be staying when Raalto and the others left. "Are you sure it will be acceptable to the women of your camp? It is technically their right to make that decision." Georgo asked. "They are welcome to demand all the meat now if they want to. I will let them know that I will be in John's cave drinking coffee while they are dealing with ten dead bison though. If they can't tell already that John is an honorable man and the leader of a good and growing camp, I can. I will not be made to suffer that kind of drudgery just because of the women's whims. We needn't worry though. I know the women and they will not ask for the bison now." Raalto said. Shelalliea came in then and told me that Barbo, Jara and their camp were approaching. We all went out to greet them. As I was welcoming them I could tell that Barbo was a little surprised to see the size of the welcoming party. I saw that it wasn't lost on Jara either. When they learned that all the camps except Raalto's were joining mine they were even more surprised. Barbo and Jara came back to my cave with me while the others were being led to the big cave to set up sleeping places. Raalto went with them to find his mates. When we got to the cave I saw that most of my mates were working in the kitchen, getting a meal together. I know that Barbo and Jara saw them too but they didn't appear to notice. When we sat at the table Ladeliea and Erieta brought us all some coffee and the acquired taste explanation was on again. I let Georgo do the honors this time. Racaato came in from the practice cave then and I'm sure he saw me giving Erieta's ass a little squeeze as she gave me a coffee mug. I was prepared to look sheepish when he surprised me by smiling at me and giving me a wink. He sat also and Erieta brought him a mug of coffee too. I told Barbo and Jara that I intended to send Racaato to kill the bison that I owed their camp. Barbo seemed pleased but I could see that Jara wasn't so pleased, I didn't understand why. We talked for a while and later we all ate the meal my mates had prepared. When we were finished Racaato and I went back into the practice cave. He showed me some of the targets he'd fired at and I could see from those he pointed out as fired on from the longest distance that he was getting good groups. Racaato was firing from the prone position and using the bipod rest that was attached to the rifle. I was glad that he'd chosen to practice from the position he'd most likely be using for taking bison. I had him fire ten rounds at a target all the way out to the three hundred yard mark. I watched closely while he fired and after we'd examined the target I made a few suggestions about his position and about taking time to let his heart rate settle and also about squeezing the trigger more gently. I sent out another target and he fired ten more rounds. When we brought it back I saw that except for one obvious flyer he was getting a three-inch group at three hundred yards. That was nearly as good as the rifle was capable of. I pronounced him ready to hunt. He smiled at my praise and I could tell he was proud of doing a good job. I'd already asked Frank to prepare a video about safety for him and after he'd put away his equipment I took him to the desk and had Frank start the video lesson. I was about to tell Racaato how to start and stop Frank and how to ask him to repeat when the video started with those explanations. I left him at it and went outside. Due to the large turn out we had decided that we needed one more day to get everything ready. Everyone but the couples that were to be mated liked the idea and even they saw that the extra day would be required. Bigglieo came to me and asked about digging some more or less permanent ground ovens or cooking pits as he called them. We decided on the best places for three cooking pits and when I went into my cave and came back with six shovels, three round point and three square point, Bigglieo was happy with his new equipment. I left him and his volunteers to dig the pits and went back into my cave. I asked Racaato to let me have a few minutes with Frank and he agreed. I saw him head over toward the coffee pot and smiled to myself as I sat down. When I sent a message Argent replied. "Do you have the new horses ready?" I asked. "Yes. We have selected twelve Clydesdales, ten mares and two of the best stallions we could acquire. We also have three very good Quarter Horse mares, a Quarter Horse stallion and a Thoroughbred stallion." Argent told me. "Don't you think that the Thoroughbred will be a little too fragile for this day and age?" I asked. "We had a researcher do a rather thorough investigation and he seems to think that this particular stallion will do a good job for you. He is an own son of Secretariat. He was actually a little too heavily built to race. His conformation is very similar to a high bred Quarter Horse but he is taller at 16.2 hands." Argent said. "If he is an own son of Secretariat isn't he a little long in the tooth?" I had to ask. "In terms of actual age all the horses we have gathered are very old. You must remember though that you were a little old for this sort of thing when we contacted you. All of these horses have been put back to a physical age of around three years. They do retain their mental facilities though, such as they are. They are all well trained but the thoroughbred may require some additional work. He has been ridden and trained a little but most of his experience is at stud." Argent told me. "Good then, at least he knows how to fuck. We'll see how they do. I think that I am ready for them so if you have things set I will be heading upriver in the morning and you can put them where I got the others." "Very good, we shall." Argent told me and then signed off. It was getting near sunset and I decided that I had done about all I wanted to for the day. I let Racaato settle back down for his lesson and went to talk with my mates. They had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and feeding a dishwasher. We all sat at the table and just talked and teased for a while. I had expected them to gather up Kateata in the day's confusion but she wasn't with us. All my mates were here along with Shallea, Shaala, Melieta and Jaiya; the rest of the women had gone to their own homes I supposed. As I listened to the women talk about the cooking and preparations for tomorrow I noticed that Racaato found a stopping place and left. I was pretty much left out of the conversation and wanting a little attention I spoke up and suggested some quality time for all of us in the hot tub. The idea was a hit at once and within minutes I found myself in the warm bubbling water with what seemed all the titties on earth. Did I ever get a washing that night? My mates and the four virgins were very attentive. No one put on a sham resistance; they all just fondled and fucked me any time they got the chance. I made sure that all four of the virgins took a last moustache ride before their matings. I realized that I would be down to only one virgin pussy to lick after tonight. I wondered if poor Failiela would be able to bear up under the strain. Maybe I should start looking around for some pretty young things to help her out. I thought that the chances were probably good that some new young lovelies had joined us today and I could always fall back to the three unmated girls that had come with Kateata. Knowing my self though I would probably end up fucking all of them, mated or not. Sometimes you had to do what you had to do. Finally exhausted I fell asleep snuggled up against Delia's magnificent young ass. I was teasing her titty as I drifted off. Argent visited me for a short time in the night and told me that the horses would be put up the valley as soon as they saw me riding that way. He assured me again that I would find the thoroughbred a wonderful mount and promised to replace him if he wasn't suitable. He left me then. Still pressed up firmly against Delia's lovely ass I woke to find that a firm but not quite hard dicky had found a warm spot between her thighs just below her pussy. The hand I had over her was still resting on her titty and I began playing with it as I woke. "Are you finally awake John?" Delia asked. "Just now, where has everyone else gone?" "They all got up to start the day. Your breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. When I tried to get up you mumbled in your sleep and held me tighter so I stayed here to keep you company." She said and giggled a little. "That was thoughtful of you. Maybe someday my mates will think enough of me so that one can stay behind me too, it will keep my back from getting cold." I teased her. "We will make sure of it from now on." Delia promised. I knew that I was acting spoiled but what the hell. I had twelve mates and surely ten of them could get breakfast ready. I know I'm a man and a pig by default so I'd just as well make the best of it. I released Delia and we got up. From the dried stickiness around dicky I knew that I needed a shower. I asked Delia if she wanted to join me and she agreed. It seems that the rest had all showered when they got up. We had a lovely shower and I had a lot of fun washing Delia and then thoroughly enjoyed her washing me. When we got out Shelalliea, Dieta and Jaada were there to help dry and dress us. A tough life. After breakfast I went outside carrying a mug of coffee. I wanted to see how things were going. The cooking pits must have been finished last night because they were already filled with meat and covered back over. Bigglieo was walking about giving directions and keeping order and when he saw me he came over. "We will have a good celebration tonight." He said. "Yes we will. You will be happy to know that there will be even more bruga tonight. I'm sure that your head will be pounding in the morning." I said laughing. "Probably, I will try to hold back but I doubt that I will be able to." He said grinning. "Don't even try unless you want to Bigglieo. You have worked hard lately and you need to enjoy yourself." I told him. "You have convinced me. I will drink all the bruga I can hold." He said and laughed out loud. I had to laugh too. I didn't mind if Bigglieo got drunk, in fact I could think of two good reasons for him to pass out. I would be happy to help them get Bigglieo into bed later. As Bigglieo continued making the rounds Dieta and Geera came outside. I smiled when I saw that they both had their coffee mugs with them. At least I had a good start on corrupting them with morning coffee. "Do not tire yourself today John." Dieta told me. "Yes, you will have much to do tonight." Geera added. "What will I have to do?" I asked trying to seem innocent. "You know very well that you have many women to see to tonight. There are new camps here and the men that were leaders and second men will need to know that you approve of them." Dieta told me. "What if their mates don't want my attentions?" I asked. "Then the fun will be even greater. We will have no trouble holding them down so that you can show them their place. I am afraid that all of them will be more than willing though. In fact I think that Jara is working on Barbo already, trying to convince him that it would be best if they stayed also." Geera said. "I suppose that you would rather Barbo take Jara and his camp back home." I said. "No, we do not want that at all. I am practically dripping at the thought of seeing Shelalliea and Dalia holding Jara while she receives your attentions." Dieta said. "It is getting to me too. Dalia and Shelalliea have both told us that Jara is too much woman for Barbo. They too want to see her in your bed." Geera said. "We will just have to see what comes about. I will tell you that you don't want Jara in bed under me anymore than I do." I told them and we all laughed. Racaato came out of the entrance to their caves then and headed toward us. "At least we will get to see you with Erieta tonight." Dieta said lowly as he approached. "Good morning Racaato." I said. "It is a good morning and I am anxious to get started. What should I practice today?" He asked. "You should try your hand with a team and wagon today but first I want to take a little ride up the valley. You can come with me and we will see what is roaming around up there." I said. We went to the horse pens and Racaato saddled Bonehead again while I saddled Ben. Before we left I opened the training pen and Racaato tried to help on Bonehead as I used Ben to drift all our trained horses into the training pen. When we left I opened the gate to the large pen all the way and then we headed upriver. We passed the ramp and about a mile or so later I spotted the horses. They were grazing but looking just a little confused. "Racaato, do you see those horses?" I asked, pointing at them. "Yes, they are the biggest I have ever seen." He said. "Go back to camp and tell Bigglieo that I will be driving more horses down to capture in the large pen. Tell him to get everything ready as before and make sure to tell him to get everyone out of the way so the horses aren't spooked. You should also tell him to put something in front of the cooking pits so the horses don't step into them. After you have told him come back up to the ramp and go up it a little way, if the horses try to go that way you must make sure they don't." I told him. "I will do it. How soon will you start with these horses?" He asked. "I will begin moving them within an hour so everyone should hurry to get in place." I said. He left then and I moved on upriver and worked my way around behind the new horses. When I was in place I waited for what I thought was about thirty more minutes and then started toward them. It was easier this time. When these new horses saw me moving toward them they weren't frightened at all but knew what I wanted and they moved off. Twenty minutes later they were in the pen with the gate shut without incident. Bigglieo was the first to reach me after I'd closed the gate. "Those are the biggest horses I have ever seen. I can't believe the size they have. Many of them must weigh as much as the largest bison." He said. "They do I'm sure. When we have them trained to pull the wagons they will have no trouble no matter how heavily the wagons are loaded." I said. "I can see that. We have much help here now and not much to do since the women are mainly just cooking now, why not let Galto and some others finish the other training pen? All of the new men from the other camps were excited to see and use the shovels and I'm sure that some would like to try out the axes and saws also if they knew about them." Bigglieo asked. "That is a very good idea Bigglieo. You may tell all the other men that I will give them a shovel and axe each if they help, I might as well give them all a saw also. Will that make them want to help?" "It will not be necessary but it will make them all very happy. These things are beyond value. I can hardly believe how easy it is to dig with the shovels." Bigglieo said. "When you think of it though Bigglieo, won't it be mostly men in my own camp that I am giving the equipment to." "It will in fact. The only ones that will be leaving after the ceremony are Raalto's and Barbo's people. Those two camps together only count about half of the members of our camp now. You are very smart John. I had not considered that." Bigglieo said. "What do you think of Raalto?" I asked him. "Raalto is a very good leader. You know many more things than he does but he is like you in many ways. He will not let men stay at his camp if they cause trouble. Raalto does not like fighting and arguing. Men that want to fight in his camp often find themselves fighting Raalto. It never works out well for them. Those that do not cause trouble could not find a better leader than Raalto though, unless they come here." Bigglieo told me and grinned. "I am glad to see that you know where your interest are best served Bigglieo." I told him laughing myself. With that decided Bigglieo left me to divide up the work with Galto. Racaato was back by now and he put Bonehead away while I let Danlo take care of Ben for me. I took some time to examine the new horses more closely. Even the thoroughbred looked diminutive beside the giant Clydesdales. I could tell that I was going to like him though. His sorrel coat shined in the sunlight and like his daddy he had white stockings on his hind legs and one white sock on his right foreleg. I had never seen Secretariat but I had looked at a lot of pictures of him. This son was indeed a little heavier than his sire, especially in his forequarters. That was probably why he wasn't a racehorse. It is true that a horse carries sixty percent of his weight on his forelegs. For running though it is the rear legs that generate the most speed. The forelegs act mostly as a launching pad for the thrust of the rear legs as they come up and then sweep back to propel the horse. The forelegs are important but they needn't be so strong for straight line running. Maneuverability was a different thing though. This version of big red would be much more capable of maneuvering than his magnificent sire could have been. His sire was never called on for any activities like that though. I looked forward to forking Red and seeing what he was like. Galto and several others came back then and began to finish the other training pen. There was only the front fence and gate left to do and with all the help Galto had I was sure that they would get through with the training pen and the round pen in a few hours. Watching them work was a far cry from doing it all myself and I'll admit that I liked things much better this way. I left them working and headed back to my cave. My mates were all in the kitchen along with most of the new neighbors, the women, that is. They were discussing what was already cooking and what other preparations needed to be made for tonight. I had lust in my heart seeing Erieta, Cahttiea, Sarieta, and Loreena working in their traditional clothes and knowing that they would be getting new outfits tonight, well earning them tonight at least. Georgo came in with his two new prospective mates then and it didn't deflate dicky at all, thinking of things to come even later actually pumped him up more. Yotalieta and Baahaya were definitely another two treats for the eyes. Yotalieta was a tiny woman, not over five feet. She had sparkling deep blue eyes to go with her dark red hair and though she didn't have any freckles she did have the very fair skin of a redhead. Even in her traditional clothes I could see that she was another big tittied little girl. Baahaya was a brunet with an olive complexion. She had dark eyes and nearly black hair that hung to her shoulders. Her titties didn't announce their size from under her tunic but I was betting there were some in there somewhere. Both the young women had big smiles on their faces when Georgo brought them over and introduced them to me. I didn't even get a second to speak to them since my mates and Ladeliea converged on us and dragged them away. At least Erieta was paying some attention to me and when I signaled for her to bring Georgo and I a couple of beers, she did it right away. We sat as she brought us a couple of mugs. "John this will be the first time I have been mated in a ceremony. I will need to get another shaman to come and perform it for me." He said, thinking of his upcoming mating instead of the one tonight. "It looks to me as if it will be worth any trouble that it might cause." I said, looking at Yotalieta's and Baahaya's disappearing asses as Ladeliea was leading most of the women into she and Georgo's cave. "I am sure that you are right about that. I'll admit that I am anxious to get it done. Now I know the impatience you must have felt when you waited the extra time before your first mating." Georgo told me. "Maybe you and I should have our next mating together. Would you feel slighted if Kateata and I were mated along with you?" I asked. "Not at all. I will ask Yotalieta, Baahaya and Ladeliea if it will matter to them but I don't think that it will." Georgo said. "Good, I am wanting to have Kateata with me now also." "What are your plans for the other chores John? You have many things before you. You need to bring the things from Colonto's old campsite and from Caato's campsite. I will be surprised if you don't have to make a trip to bring Barbo's camp here also before long." Georgo told me. "I thought that they were doing well there." I said. "They are doing well enough but I have seen Jara paying careful attention to things here and I have also noticed her eyeing you closely. You know that she is the driving force behind Barbo's leadership don't you." He asked me. "I felt that she was. She seems to know what it takes to get the best deal for her camp." I replied. "She does and it isn't hard for her to see that even if her mate was not the leader here the whole camp would be better off with us. She will have a good deal of work convincing Barbo in this matter though. Barbo likes being the leader of his own camp. He will not surrender to moving to this camp without serious provocation from Jara." Georgo said. "I don't want them to come here if he doesn't want to. That would lead to grief sooner or later." I said. "I am sure of it. I just hope that she doesn't press too hard. Make no mistake though; they will end up here sooner or later. It will be beneficial for all of us too if Barbo can be convinced. There are many good men in that camp and good women too. They are all hard workers, that is how they have been successful without having a large camp." Georgo said. "We will have to wait and see how things work out." "How are things going to go in the near future John? Who will you be sending the wagons to get first?" He asked. "Did you see the new horses I captured today?" "Yes. They were all very large. The largest of them disguised the fact that even the others were larger than those we already had." Georgo said showing me that he paid more attention to the horses than I'd thought. "Yes they seem to be extremely fine horses. The largest will be able to take over all the duties with the wagons. They can pull a much heavier load over a much longer distance without tiring. That will also allow us to use all the other horses that have already been trained for riding and for helping in the gathering." I said. "Won't they be harder to train though?" He asked. "I don't think so. I noticed when I was driving them here that they seemed almost cooperative, as if they knew what I intended and wanted to do it for me." I said. "That will be excellent if they can be trained soon." Georgo said. "If they do not cause any trouble, by the time the mating nights are over for Danlo, Jonoco and Nadlo, I will be able to use all the wagons to bring the new members things here quickly. I will probably be able to send everyone home riding instead of walking, even Raalto's camp." I said. "You probably can because everyone will not need to go back to their old camp. Of course many will have to go to pack the things but all of them will not be needed." Georgo explained. "I think that is what I will do then. After the mating nights are finished I will send Bigglieo and a few others off in all the wagons and with many of the travois horses to take everyone home and to bring back what they can. With the new wagon and your buckboard also I think they might be able to bring everything in one trip. Even if they can't surely they can get everything with two trips. "After the moving is done I will let Racaato go and do some hunting for me. He can stop at Barbo's camp first and make some kills. I will let him take the big wagon so he can carry the kills back to camp for them, then while they are dealing with their bison he can go to Raalto's camp and should be able to get all the bison for Baahaya's payment at one time. When he has finished there he can go back to Barbo's camp to see if they would like another hunt." I said. "That is good planning. It will be good if things can work out that way." Georgo said. "Yes it will be good if it works. I know that things might go wrong but we will deal with whatever comes up." I said. The women came back in then and I noticed that they now had Shaala, Shallea, Melieta, Jaiya and Kateata with them. I smiled to myself. No doubt that Kateata would spend the night with us and I would be able to "abuse" her again. It put me in a very good mood. Looking over the four that were going to be mated tonight improved the mood even more. No doubt I would find it necessary to send Danlo, Jonoco and Nadlo with Bigglieo to help with the moving. They were my main wranglers after all. I had to try and stop thinking about it in hopes that dicky would stop drooling. Georgo got up to go to Ladeliea, Yotalieta and Baahaya so I wandered over to have a talk with Frank. When I got noticed at the other end I ordered two shovels, a saw and an axe for every man that was in my camp now. I knew that they would come in handy for my men and I was sure that Raalto and Barbo would appreciate the gifts. Thinking a little further down the road I ordered a large hunting knife also for all the men and a drop point hunter, skillet and two stew pots for each of the women. Lastly I asked for a big coffee pot for Raalto. It was one of the old types that brewed coffee on a fire but I knew that it could make good coffee. I didn't feel I should ask Argent for another fuel cell to make Raalto's coffee. I was getting pretty generous with Argent's gifts but when I looked at the weight that I would have remaining after this round I realized that Argent must have ignored many of the new things I'd been given. I still had nearly four thousand pounds left. The sun was setting now and my mates and their visitors were getting down to business in the kitchen. I nearly asked for another beer but decided on some coffee instead. I didn't want to be sleepy tonight as I "abused" Kateata and then made all the new women feel at home. Chapter 31 Back to story Index Back to cmsix Index Blog eMail cmsix I claim copyright on everything from here on in, inclusive - cmsix